D&D 5E (2024) WotC Should Make 5.5E Specific Setting

[UngainlyTitan]

Those are called "cults" and they tend not to advertise there presence.

"Is this the Dread Portal of the Ebon Brotherhood?....."

 

[CreamCloud0]

i could see a '5e setting' going in a very Final Fantasy direction, that tends towards modernistic high magic multiculturalism settings, with a good splash of magictech or even just straight up tech often thrown in there too, please give us default artificer.

even if they're not PHB player species, i'd also expect goblins if not also kobolds included as part of the setting's 'common masses' as some of the most common monster species IMO.

 

[Remathilis]

i could see a '5e setting' going in a very Final Fantasy direction, that tends towards modernistic high magic multiculturalism settings, with a good splash of magictech or even just straight up tech often thrown in there too, please give us default artificer.

even if they're not PHB player species, i'd also expect goblins if not also kobolds included as part of the setting's 'common masses' as some of the most common monster species IMO.

I always felt Eberron was the FF setting, but I could see them go straight up sci-fi/fantasy rather than wide magic/magical replacesc tech. Less FF 4-6 and more FF 13 -15

 

[Stormonu]

i could see a '5e setting' going in a very Final Fantasy direction, that tends towards modernistic high magic multiculturalism settings, with a good splash of magictech or even just straight up tech often thrown in there too, please give us default artificer.

even if they're not PHB player species, i'd also expect goblins if not also kobolds included as part of the setting's 'common masses' as some of the most common monster species IMO.

I could go for a 1600's or so setting, perhaps along the lines of 7th sea (without the direct faux european countries), with muskets, advanced alchemy, rudimentary steampunk and the beginnings of technomagic.

 

[Yaarel]

For a 2024 setting, the largest populations should correspond to the most popular player species.

Elves and Humans are common.

Tiefling, Goliath, Dwarf, and Dragonborn are uncommon.

Halfling, Orc, Gnome, and Awsimar are rare.

All other species are very rare.


Note. 2024 seems to merge the Genasi-Goliath together, for an especially elemental Giant theme. Thus the most recent 2022 popularity percentage rankings (Tiefling 7.6, Dwarf 7.5, Dragonborn 7.2, Halfling 5.0, Orc 4.7, Genasi 4.0, Gnome 3.7, Goliath 3.6, Awsimar 3.5) probably shifts to something like: Tiefling 7.6, Goliath 7.6, Dwarf 7.5, Dragonborn 7.2. Because different years have slight shifts in popularity, it is better to think of the clusters as mostly stable groups with some fluidity within each group.

 

[CreamCloud0]

I always felt Eberron was the FF setting, but I could see them go straight up sci-fi/fantasy rather than wide magic/magical replacesc tech. Less FF 4-6 and more FF 13 -15

FFX is the game that always first comes to mind for me when referencing the series personally, it being the only major non-handheld entry i've put significant time into, but if we're including artificer and 5.5's guns that entry feels pretty apt with magic and tech both being prominent in that game (although in a magic vs tech dynamic that a 5e setting wouldn't probably have)

although i haven't played any ebberon i've gotten the impression from discussions of it here of being sort of, a magictech industrialist setting(though my impressions could be mistaken), what i'm imagining is more along the lines of a 'brighter' high-fantasy setting.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Spelljammer can be very magitek.

A possible setting could be a spin-off of Dark Sun, or a spiritual succesor, where you could add all the crunch or player options arrived after 2nd Ed.

An update of Councyl of Wyrms could be interesting but it could need a lot of work for game designers if players want to be dragon PCs.

Whe also have the option of a setting designed to play with Chronomancers. This could offer possibilities to show alternate timelines of canon settings.

 

[SkidAce]

Even though they could make such a setting (per OP) and it might be cool, I don't think they will.

Right now they can pull from anywhere and anything, using bits an bobs in a "semi-official continuity".

Creating a new default setting for 5.5 could lead to the expectation of having to use it for everything or they would get cries of " they published this and where's my support" etc. If they could get past the expectations of a "standard default" setting, doing a one shot and done, like Planescape say...then it might work.

 

[SkidAce]

For the record, I would like them to publish settings almost as frequently as they do sourcebooks. Which they kinda do (Strixhaven, Ravnica, Wildmount, Theros), but more detailed and original.

 

[CreamCloud0]

Creating a new default setting for 5.5 could lead to the expectation of having to use it for everything or they would get cries of " they published this and where's my support" etc. If they could get past the expectations of a "standard default" setting, doing a one shot and done, like Planescape say...then it might work.

while true, i feel that if they do make a 5e setting i really feel they need to give it a distinct flavour of it own that's more than just 'classic sword and sorcery fantasy land' again, i fully admit i care very little about lore but of the settings and places i do know anything about, well they're the ones with something unique to their name, borovia is spooky hammer horror setting, ebberon is the technological magipunk setting, strixhaven is the wizard college, darksun is the gritty post apocalypse shades of grey setting, each one has their own spin on things that gives them a recognizable identity.